Houston, TX vs Peoria, IL
Moving from Houston to Peoria? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($308,306 → $172,742 median home) and taxes.
Houston vs Peoria at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Houston, TX, you'd need about $89,071 in Peoria, IL (−$10,929).
Livability — Houston, TX: 75 · Peoria, IL: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,406 sqft in Houston vs 4,921 sqft in Peoria ($147 vs $102 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Houston, TX | Peoria, IL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,668 | $14,148 | −$5,520 |
| Groceries | $5,085 | $4,655 | −$430 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,550 | −$125 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $2,208 | +$372 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,900 | −$1,700 |
| Taxes | $7,399 | $11,370 | +$3,971 |
| Total | $41,263 | $37,831 | −$3,432 |
Side by side
| Metric | Houston, TX | Peoria, IL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 99.7 | 88.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.96% | 5.30% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.6% | 6.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 63 | 44 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.67 | $5.05 |
| Median home price | $308,306 | $172,742 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 2.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.0% | 7.7% |
| Price per square foot | $147 | $102 |
| Median rent | $1,639 | $1,179 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 12.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 8.86% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 4.95% |
| Property tax rate | 1.79% | 2.19% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $14,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 21 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $1,900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $300 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 20.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.60 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 15 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |